Buckle



UNITED sfrafrss rerun orrior..

.TOI-IN C. HALL, OF FAYETTE, MISSISSIPPI.

- BUCKLE.

Specification of 'Letters Patent No. 27,714, dated April 8, '1860.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J. O. I-IALL, of Fay ette, in the county ofJefferson and State of Mississippi, have invented a new and ImprovedBuckle; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, andexact description of the same, reference being had to the annexeddrawings, making a part of this specification, in which- Figure l, is alongitudinal section of my invention taken in the line m, 00, Fig. el.,and shown connecting the two ends of a band together. Fig. 2, atransverse section of ditto taken in the line y, y, Fig. 4. Fig. 8 adetached perspective view of ditto. Fig. 4t, an outer or face view of'ditto, shown connecting the two ends of a band together. Fig. 5, alongitudinal section of ditto, showing the ends of the band firmlyclamped.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the severalfigures.

The object of this invention is to obtain a buckle or fastening whichmay be attached without stitching or sewing to the ends of the band,belt or strap it is t-o connect, and not only form a secure andpermanent fastening, but also one which will readily admit of the band,belt, or strap being taken up or shortened as occasion may require.

The invention is applicable in all cases where the ordinary buckles areused to connect the ends of Hexible bands, belt-s or straps, and it :maybe also advantageously used for connecting together the ends of metalhoops for cotton bales, as it admits of the compressing of the bales forthe use of shippers without removing the original hoops from the bales,provided said hoops are connected or secured at their ends by myinvention.

To enable those skilled in the art to fully understand and construct myinvention I will proceed to describe it.

A represents a square or quadrilateral metal frame, the sides a, a., ofwhich are swaged or struck up a greater portion of their length inU-form as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. Their sides a, a, serve as guides fora slide bar B the ends of which are bent or curved so as to fit into thegrooves of the sides a., ci as shown at b, and also to pass under oraround them as shown at c in the above named figures. The slide bar B isslotted longitudinally so as to form a loop as shown clearly in Figs. 2and 3. This slide bar may be detached from the frame A, by simplyshoving it along beyond the ends of the swaged portions of the sides a,ci. One end piece, l of the frame may be slotted longitudinally and bentas shown clearly in Fig. 3, to form a loop. The other end piece e may besolid or of' one piece.

The above parts constitute the buckle and it is applied or attached tothe parts it is to connect as follows. One end f of the belt is passedthrough the end piece d, and the opposite end piece e of t-he frame A,and then back through (Z as plainly shown in Fig. l. The opposite end gof the belt is then passed through the loops of the slide bar B, asshown clearly in Fig. l, the belt passing around the wider portion ofsaid bar. rIhe slide bar B is then fitted in the frame A by adjusting itto the sides a c at the ends of the swaged portions thereof` and the twoends of the belt being drawn apart, a clamp is formed by the slide barB, and the end piece e of the frame A as shown in Fig. 5. By pulling theparts l, l, of the belt the slide bar B and the end piece e will bedrawn together, and made to bind tighter as the pull is increased, butby drawing either of the 'ends 9., 9., the belt will be taken up orshortened as in the latter case the ends of the belt will sliprespectively around the slide bar B and end piece e.

Thus it will be seen that a very simple and efficient buckle isobtained, one that may be applied to the parts to be connected withoutany stitching, sewing or any positive attachment, and still form asecure fastening, and one that will admit of a ready taking up orshortening of the belt, band or strap, the ends of which the buckleconnects. TWhen applied to metal bale hoops all that is required duringthe operation of compressing is to draw out the exposed end 2, and whenthe bale is fully compressed and relieved of pressure, the eXpansiontightens at once the buckle, the draw on the ends `l, l, of the hoop,causing the slide bar B, and end piece e to clamp tightly the end of thebelt and hold them firmly.

I would remark that for metal bale hoops it would not be essential tohave the slide bar B. fitted on guides on the frame. It would be betterto have a simple rod merely resting on the frame. This arrangement wouldAadmit of the rod being shoved or adjusted longitudinally in properposition and obviate the necessity of its adjustment on the guides. Thelatter mode however band or hoop f, g, with a frame A and bar B, 1n themanner and for the purpose substantially as herein shown and described.

Witnesses JOHN C. HALL.

M. M. LIVINGSTON,

WM. THOMPSON.

